977.366 
D36 
cop. 2 


August  22,  19O1 
URBANA,  ILLINOIS 


OF  ILLINOIS 


IBRARY 


A       SANA-CHAMPAIGN 
BOOKSTACKS 


Befcication  -  of  *  Champaign 
County  *  Court 

augustt  22,  1901 

®rbana,  f  Utnots 


THE    GAZETTE    PRESS, 
CHAMPAIGN,  IWU 


*•'» 


jTHIS  Program,  and  the  matter  accompanying  it,  is 
presented  to  the  public  by  the  Board  of  fiupervi- 
sors  of  Champaign  County,  Illinois,  in  the  belief  that 
it  will  be  found  of  especial  interest  and  value  at  the 
present  time,  when  the  county  is  taking  possession  of 
its  new  and  elegant  Court  House  Building. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  NEW  COURT  HOUSE. 


The  following  brief  description  of  the  new  building  is 
furnished  by  Mr.  Royer,  of  the  firm  of  ROYER  &  BROWN, 
the  architects  of  the  building. 

The  remodeled  Champaign  County  Court  House  is  a 
building  covering  an  area  measuring  108  by  116  feet.  It 
is  three  stories  in  height.  The  treatment  of  the  exterior 
is  in  the  Romanesque  style  of  architecture,  the  materials 
used  being  red  sandstone  and  mottled  brick.  The  stone 
work  extends  from  the  grade  line  to  the  second  story. 
From  that  point  up  to  the  cornice  the  walls  are  of  mot- 
tled brick  with  stone  trimmings.  The  main  cornice  is  of 
terra  cotta,  of  a  color  to  match  the  stone,  with  heavy  leaf 
ornament.  The  building  is  covered  with  a  heavy  steel 
roof,  composed  of  steel  trusses  and  rafters,  upon  which  is 
a  three-inch  layer  of  concrete,  which  carries  the  outer 
covering  of  red  tile.  The  construction  throughout  is  fire- 
proof, all  floors  and  walls  being  either  of  brick  or  hollow 
tile.  The  floors  are  constructed  of  steel  beams  with  flat 
tile  arches  between,  the  whole  being  covered  with  about 
three  inches  of  concrete  before  the  finished  floors  are 
laid. 

The  building  faces  the  north,  fronting  on  Main  Street, 
the  main  entrance  being  in  the  tower.  The  tower  is  135 
feet  high,  being  surmounted  by  a  tile  roof  with  dormers 
on  each  face  and  turrets  at  the  corners.  Directly  below 
the  roof  is  an  open  balcony  from  which  an  excellent  view 
of  the  surrounding  country  may  be  had.  The  two  stories 
of  the  tower  below  the  balcony  are  occupied  by  the  clock 
works,  the  four  clock-faces  being  just  below  the  balcony. 

The  building  has  three  entrances,  the  main  or  tower 
entrance  being  on  the  north.  The  west  entrance  is  in  the 
center  of  the  west  side,  and  the  south  entrance  directly  in 
the  rear  of  the  building.  All  entrances  lead  through  ves- 
tibules and  corridors  to  the  main  corridor  on  the  first 


floor.  This  is  a  room  55  x  53  feet,  on  either  side  of  which 
is  a  marble  stairway  leading  to  the  second  story. 

On  the  first  floor  are  the  offices  of  the  Circuit  Clerk, 
Recorder,  Supervisor  of  Assessments,  Treasurer,  Coroner, 
Surveyor  and  Sheriff.  The  general  office  of  the  Circuit 
Clerk  is  at  the  right  of  the  main  corridor,  and  is  a  room 
35  x  36  feet.  A  private  office  is  directly  south  of  the  gen- 
eral office.  Directly  opposite  these  offices  are  those  of 
the  Recorder.  These  consist  of  a  general  office,  25  x  40 
feet,  with  vault  and  toilet  attached.  On  the  left  side  of 
the  corridor  are  the  Treasurer's  offices,  with  vaults  and 
toilet,  the  main  office  being  a  room  35  x  36  ;  the  office  of 
the  Supervisor  of  Assessments,  a  room  21x25  '•>  the  offices 
of  the  Coroner  and  Surveyor,  rooms  17x20;  and  the 
Sheriff's  office,  a  room  25  X3O,  with  vault  and  toilet  rooms 
attached. 

On  the  second  floor  are  the  offices  of  County  Clerk, 
County  Superintendent  of  Schools,  State's  Attorney, 
Board  of  Supervisors,  and  the  County  Court.  The  County 
Clerk  has  a  suite  of  three  rooms  on  the  north  with  vaults 
and  toilet.  The  Superintendent  of  Schools  has  the  north- 
west corner  of  this  floor.  The  County  Court  is  on  the 
south  side  of  the  building,  and  to  it  is  attached  a  private 
office  for  the  use  of  the  County  Judge.  On  this  floor  are 
also  public  toilet  rooms. 

The  third  floor  is  given  up  almost  entirely  to  the  use 
of  the  Circuit  Court.  On  the  south  is  the  Circuit  Court, 
a  room  42  x  72  feet,  the  bench  being  on  the  east.  Con- 
nected with  the  court  room  are  the  judge's  private  office, 
the  attorneys'  room,  the  law  library,  and  the  corridor 
leading  to  the  three  jury  rooms.  Besides  the  rooms 
already  enumerated  there  are  on  this  floor  the  grand  jury 
rooms,  with  waiting  rooms  for  both  sexes  attached,  and 
general  committee  rooms  and  toilet  rooms. 

The  interior  of  the  building  is  treated,  as  far  as  is 
consistent,  in  the  same  style  of  architecture  as  the  exte- 
rior. All  corridors  and  lobbies  have  marble  floor  with 
marble  wainscotting  four  feet  high.  All  door  and  window 
finish  is  of  quarter  sawed  white  oak.  The  side  walls  and 


ceilings  are  of  plaster,  all  the  offices  having  ornamental 
plaster  ceilings  and  cornices,  the  court  room  and  corridors 
having  the  ceilings  intersected  with  heavy  plaster  girders. 

The  entire  building  is  frescoed,  the  general  idea  being 
to  keep  it  in  accord  with  the  style  of  architecture  used  in 
the  construction.  The  work  on  the  Circuit  Court  room  is 
especially  elaborate  and  in  keeping  with  the  use  to  which 
it  is  to  be  put. 

All  furniture  in  the  building  was  made  especially  for 
it,  and  is  of  the  very  best  hard  wood. 

The  heat  for  the  building  is  to  be  furnished  by  the 
central  heating  plant  now  being  installed  in  the  city  of 
Urbana.  The  building  is  piped  for  gas  and  wired  for 
electricity.  Elevator  service  is  provided  for  passengers 
and  freight. 

Below  is  given  a  list  of  the  firms  having  to  do  with 
the  construction  of  the  building. 

General  Contract — V.  Jobst  &  Sons,  Peoria.  Heating — Walsh  &  Heuck, 
Champaign.  Plumbing — Dunlap  &  Wright,  Champaign.  Frescoing— Wm.  G. 
Andrews,  Clinton,  Iowa.  Furniture — The  A.  H.  Andrews  Company,  Chicago. 
Metal  Furniture— Art  Metal  Construction  Company,  St.  Louis.  Heat  Regula- 
tion —Johnson  Temperature  Controlling  Company,  Chicago.  The  following 
contracts  were  sub-let  by  the  general  contractors  :  Stone  Work,  Wm.  Goodall, 
Danville.  Marble  Work,  C.  N.  Clark,  Urbana.  Roofing — Max  Jennings,  Lo- 
gansport,  Ind. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors 
holding  office  at  the  time  the  contract  for  remodeling  the 
court  house  was  let  (September,  1899). 

Babb,  John Champaign      Leidendeker,  H.  J Hensley 

Battles,  Fred Harwood      Little,  I.  R Condit 

Bear,  L.  N Ludlow      Lof tus,  Michael    Sadorus 

Bennett,  J South  Homer      McLeod,  Norman Crittenden 

Boone,  G.  D Sidney      Mclntyre,  D.  P Ayers 

Busboom,  H Compromise      Pattengale,  T.  J Champaign 

Busey,  J.  B Newcomb      Raymond,  I.  S Raymond 

Cain,  Jas.  T Colfax      Robinson,  Paris Philo 

Cunningham,  H Urbana      Roles,  L.  D Brown 

Clark,  John  I Rantoul      Scott,  A.  S.    Scott 

Davis,  J.  E Pesotum      Sperling,  Fred East  Bend 

Eubeling,  F.  E Urbana      Stearns,  Wm Mahomet 

Gardiner,  J.  C Ogden      Swigart,  O.  H Champaign 

Glascock,  A.  B St.  Joseph     Thornburn,  T.  B Somer 

Grimes,  Jos.  T Tolono     Wilson,  C.  V Kerr 

Hoge,  E.  S Stanton     Ware,  J.  C Champaign 

Of  the  above  the  following  were  appointed  a  building  committee  :     F.  E. 
Eubeling,  Chairman  ;  O.  H.  Swigart,  G.  D.  Boone,  J.  Bennett,  J.  B.  Busey. 


BOARD  OF  SUPERVISORS  OF  CHAMPAIGN   COUNTY,  ILL.,  1901. 

Babb,  John Champaign  Jones,  W.  P Sidney 

Battles,  Fred Harwood  Kellogg,  O.  P St.  Joseph 

Bear,  L.  N Ludlow  Leidendeker,  H.  J Hensley 

Bennett,  J South  Homer  McCullough,  John ...Urbana 

Busboom,  Heije Compromise  Mclntyre,  D.  P Ayers 

Busey,  J.  B Newcomb  McLeod,  Norman Crittenden 

Cain,  Jas.  T Colfax  Paine,  Ben  C Raymond 

Chester,  E.  E Champaign  Pattengale,  T.  J Champaign 

Church,  John Condit  Pfiester,  John Scott 

Coyle,  Anthony Kerr  Pittman,  J.  C.  W Mahomet 

Cunningham,  H Urbana  Sayers,  J.  O Brown 

Davis,  J.  E Pesotum  Sperling,  Fred East  Bend 

Ekblaw,  Claus  F Rantoul  Swigart,  O.  H Champaign 

Eubeling,  F.  E Urbana  Thompson,  Fred Somer 

Freeman,  J.  H Ogden  VanVleck,  C.  F Philo 

Grimes,  Joseph  T Tolono  Youmans,  B.  F Stanton 

Hicks,  S.  J Sadorus 


THE  PRESENT  OFFICERS  OF  CHAMPAIGN  COUNTY. 

Judge  of  Circuit  Court 
FRANCIS  M.  WRIGHT 

Clerk  of  Circuit  Court 
JASPER  W.  PORTER 

State's  Attorney 
ANDREW  J.  MILLER 

County  Judge 
CALVIN  C.  STALEY 

County  Clerk 

THOMAS  A.  BURT 

County  Treasurer 

ELLIS  M  BURR 

Sheriff 

ERNST  LORENZ 

Superintendent  of  Schools 

GEORGE  R.  SHAWHAN 

County   Surveyor 
JOSEPH  O'BRIEN 

Coroner 

HENRY  L.  PENNY 
Master  in  Chancery 
ROYAL  WRIGHT 


DEDICATORY  EXERCISES  OF  THE  NEW 
CHAMPAIGN    COUNTY    COURT    HOUSE 

THURSDAY,   AUGUST  22,  A.D.  1901 


MASTER  OF  CEREMONIES,    JUDGE  F.  M.  WRIGHT 

DEDICATION  COMMITTEE— D.  P.  McINTYRE,  J.  C.  W.  PITTMAN,  O.  P. 
KELLOGG,  FRED  THOMPSON,  T.  J.  PATTENGALE 

Music  -O.  P.  KELLOGG,  FRED  THOMPSON 
SPEAKERS— J.  C.  W.  PITTMAN,  T.  J.   PATTENGALE 


Ten  o'clock  A.  M. 


Music, 
PRAYER, 
VOCAL  SOLO, 
ADDRESS, 
VOCAL  SOLO, 
ADDRESS, 

VIOLIN  SOLO, 

ADDRESS, 

SONG, 

ADDRESS, 

VIOLIN  SOLO, 

ADDRESS, 

SONG, 


ORCHESTRA 


-    MISS  MYRA  DAVIS 

-  JUDGE  F.  M.  WRIGHT 

-    N.  H.  COHEN 

-  C.  C.  STALEY,  GEORGE  W.  GERE 

J.  O.    CUNNINGHAM,  J.  L.  RAY 

SOLLIE  COHEN 

-  J.  J.  REA,  MICHAEL  LOFTUS 

MAHOMET  QUARTET 

J.  S.  WOLFE,  T.  J.  SMITH,  A.  S.  SCOTT 

MISS  JESSIE  BESORE 

G.  R.  SHAWHAN,  R.  C.  WRIGHT 

J.  S.  McCULLOUGH 

-    URBANA  QUARTET 


Two  o'clock  P.  M. 


Music, 
ADDRESS, 

INSTRUMENTAL  SOLO, 
SONG, 


ORCHESTRA 

HON.  H.  J.  HAMLIN 

-    MAURICE  EISNER 

URBANA  QUARTET 


During  the  day  the  St.  Joseph  Band  -will  furnish  music  in  the 
Court  House  Grounds. 


A  BRIEF   HISTORY   OF    CHAMPAIGN   COUNTY. 


Prior  to  1833  the  portion  of  Illinois  now  known  as 
Champaign  County  was  embraced  within  the  limits  of 
Vermillion,  and  was  designated  as  the  "  Attached  Part  of 
Vermillion."  It  was  but  sparsely  populated,  the  largest 
settlement  being  on  Salt  Fork.  About  thirty  families 
were  grouped  about  the  Big  Grove,  and  a  few  families 
were  located  on  the  Sangamon.  It  is  not  possible  to  give 
the  population  at  that  time,  but  the  historians  of  the 
county  have  estimated  that  it  could  not  have  exceeded 
five  hundred  persons.  It  is  not  now  possible  to  say  who 
was  the  first  white  settler  in  what  is  now  Champaign 
County.  It  seems  to  lie  between  one  Runnel  Fielder,  who 
settled  about  four  miles  northeast  of  Urbana  in  1822,  and 
William  Tompkins,  who  stopped  near  where  the  city  of 
Urbana  now  stands  at  about  the  same  time.  The  next  of 
which  there  is  absolute  knowledge  was  Henry. Sadorus. 
Mr.  Sadorus  settled  with  his  family  on  the  spot  that  is 
now  known  throughout  the  county  as  the  Sadorus  Home- 
stead, in  Sadorus  Township,  in  1824.  His  son,  Allen 
Sadorus,  now  owns  this  property,  and  lives  in  the  nearby 
town  of  Sadorus,  named  in  honor  of  his  father.  Follow- 
ing the  Sadorus  family,  the  next  settler  in  the  county  of 
which  there  is  record  was  William  Marcus,  who  settled  at 
or  near  Sadorus  Grove  in  1824.  He  moved  away  the 
same  year.  Permanent  settlements  were  few  until  after 
the  Black  Hawk  war  in  1832.  Population  then  flowed  in 
rapidly  and  settlements  along  the  streams  and  by  the  tim- 
ber tracts  became,  to  use  the  expression  of  the  early  citi- 
zens, "very  numerous." 

In  1833  the  General  Assembly  acceded  to  the  de- 
mands of  the  settlers  and  passed  a  bill  creating  the  county 
of  Champaign,  and  appointed  John  F.  Richardson  of 
Clark  County,  James  P.  Jones  of  Coles  County,  and  Ste- 


phen  B.  Shelledy  of  Edgar  County,  commissioners  to  fix 
the  county  capitol.  This  bill  was  approved  and  signed  by 
Governor  John  Reynolds  on  February  20,  1833. 

The  geographical  position  and  territorial  area  of  the 
county  is  as  follows  : 

"  The  county  of  Champaign  is  bounded  on  the  east  by 
the  county  of  Vermillion  ;  on  the  north  by  Ford  county ; 
on  the  west  by  the  counties  of  McLean  and  Piatt  ;  and  on 
the  south  by  Douglas  ;  and  may  be  further  described  as 
follows  :  Beginning  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Section 
33,  Town  17  north,  of  Range  14  west  of  26.  P.  M.;  thence 
north  to  the  northeast  corner  of  Section  4,  Town  22  north, 
of  Range  14  west  of  2d  P.  M.;  thence  west  to  line  between 
Ranges  6  and  7,  east  of  3rd  P.M.;  thence  south  to  line  be- 
tween Towns  16  and  17  north,  of  Range  7  east  of  3rd 
P.  M.;  thence  west  to  the  place  of  beginning  ;  being  a 
tract  of  land  thirty-six  miles  long  by  twenty-eight  miles 
wide,  containing  1,008  square  miles,  or  645,120  acres." 

On  the  6th  of  May,  1833,  Isaac  Busey,  Jacob  Bartley 
and  George  Akers  having  been  elected  as  the  first  county 
commissioners  met  at  the  house  of  Phillip  Stanford  and 
organized  the  first  county  commissioners  court  for  Cham- 
paign County.  The  first  act  the  court  did  was  to  appoint 
Thomson  R.  Webber  as  clerk.  The  next  was  to  appoint 
Garrett  Moore  as  constable,  then  Moses  Thomas  assessor 
and  treasurer  of  the  county.  The  next  meeting  of  the 
court  was  held  June  3,  at  which  time  T.  R.  Webber  was 
recommended  to  the  Governor  to  be  appointed  recorder, 
which  was  done,  his  commission  dating  July  2,  1833.  At 
this  meeting  Garrett  Moore  was  appointed  surveyor.  At 
the  same  meeting  Moses  Thomas,  the  assessor,  reported 
the  revenue  of  the  county  to  be  $71.37. 

The  court  divided  the  county  into  two  election  dis- 
tricts, calling  one  the  Salt  Fork  precinct,  and  appointed 
Moses  Thomas,  Robert  Prather  and  Capt  Wm.  Nox,  Jr., 
as  judges.  The  other  precinct  was  called  the  Big  Grove, 
and  Matthew  Busey,  Joshua  Trickle  and  John  Whittaker 
were  appointed  judges.  The  court  then  adjourned  to  as- 
semble at  the  call  of  the  clerk,  when  the  commissioners 


10 


appointed  by  the  act  of  the  legislature  to  locate  the  county 
seat  should  be  ready  to  report 

On  the  2ist  day  of  June 
the  commissioners  ap- 
pointed by  the  Governor 
presented  the  court  a 
written  report  locatingthe 
county  seat  at  Urbana. 

The  September  term  of 
court  for  that  year  was 
one  of  importance,  and 
many  things  were  then 
done  that  are  still  of  in- 
terest. It  was  ordered 
that  in  the  future  the 
meetings  should  be  held 
at  the  house  of  Matthew 
Busey  instead  of  that  of 
Philip  Stanford.  John 
Salisbury  was  appointed 
sheriff  soon  after  the  or- 
ganization, and  Septem- 
ber 2,  1833,  he  was  order- 
ed to  proceed  and  collect 
the  revenue,  amounting 
to  $71.37.  As  it  was  nec- 
essary to  have  a  source  of 
revenue,  November  7th, 
1833,  a  license  was  grant- 
ed to  Isaac  H.  Alexander  to  retail  goods,  wares  and  mer- 
chandise until  the  end  of  the  next  term  of  the  court— the 
license  being  $5.  Afterwards  the  time  was  extended 
"  $3.00  worth."  Soon  after  this  the  commissioners  fixed 
the  following  rates  of  prices  to  be  charged  the  public, 
viz.:  For  keeping  a  man  and  horse  one  night,  including 
supper,  bed  and  horse  feed,  75  cents  ;  single  meal,  i8& 
cents  ;  horse  feed,  12^  cents  ;  one-half  pint  whiskey,  6% 
cents;  one-half  pint  French  brandy,  i8&  cents;  half  pint 
wine,  18^4  cents  ;  half  pint  gin,  12%  cents;  half  pint  rum, 
cents;  half  pint  domestic  brandy,  18^  cents. 


THOMSON  RHODES  WEBBER. 
Few  men  in  this  country  have  presided  in 
as  many  official  capacities  for  so  long-  a  term, 
and  with  the  united  respect  of  all  who  knew 
him,  as  Mr.  Webber.  He  was  the  first  post- 
master in  the  county.  Upon  the  organ- 
ization of  the  county  he  was  elected 
clerk  of  both  courts  and  continued  in  that  offi- 
cial capacity  as  county  clerk  twenty  years, 
and  circuit  clerk  twenty-seven  years.  For 
forty  years  he  acted  as  master  in  chancery. 
Mr.  Webber  was  born  in  Shelby  county,  Ken- 
tucky, October  6,  1807,  and  died  at  his  resi- 
dence south  of  Urbana,  December  14,  1881. 


II 


The  first  fiscal  statement  was  made  by  T.  R.  Webber, 
and  showed  county  orders  unpaid,  $85.25  ;  fees  for  sur- 
veying 84  lots  in  the  town  of  Urbana,  $21  ;  recording  plat, 
$3.36  ;  fees  of  commissioners  and  for  stationery,  $17.75  ; 
making  a  total  indebtedness  of  $127.36;  deducting  the 
revenue,  $71.37,  left  $55.99;  then  deducting  license  of 
Alexander,  $5,  left  the  indebtedness  of  the  county,  De- 
cember 2.  1833,  at  $50.99. 

At  the  meeting  of  the 
County  Commissioners, 
held  December  i,  1834,  it 
was  ordered  that  hereaf- 
ter the  court  meet  at  the 
house  of  Isaac  Busey. 

In  January,  1836,  a  tem- 
porary court  house  was 
ordered  to  be  built,  on  lot 
25,  the  same  to  be  of  hewn 
logs  of  good  size.  The 
building  was  to  be  24  x  20 
feet,  one  and  one-half  sto- 
ry, shingle  roof,  hewn 
joists  and  sleepers,  one 
door  and  two  windows  on 
each  side.  The  contract 
was  let  to  John  Craig,  but 


COL.  MATTHEW  W.  BUSEY. 
A  pioneer  of  Champaig-n  county.  Born  in 
Shelby  county,  Kentucky,  May  15, 1798,  died  at 
his  home  in  this  county  in  1852.  Colonel  Busey 
was  influential  in  having-  the  county  capitol 
placed  in  Urbana. 

hold  its  sessions  in  private 

houESE  until£T8^7'bwhen  a  frame  court  house,  22  x  30  feet, 


the  building  was  never 
r.  ,  finished  to  the  satisfaction 
Y\.  of  the  commissioners  and 
\  The  court  continued  to 


with  two  rooms,  was  built  by  Moses  and  Williams  Harvey. 
This  building  was  replaced  in  1849  by  a  brick  building, 
30  x  40  feet,  two  stories,  with  offices  below  and  court  and 
jury  rooms  above.  In  1859  this  building  was  torn  down, 
and  the  building  immediately  preceding  the  present  one 
was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $40,000. 

The  first  jail  was  20  feet  square  and  two  stories  high. 


re.-.. 


12 


It  was  built  of  hewn  logs  by  Col.  M.  W.  Busey,  under  con- 
tract with  the  commissioners,  for  the  sum  of  $850.  It 
stood  on  the  north  end  of  the  lot  just  north  of  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Urbana.  The  structure  was  as  secure 
as  it  was  possible  to  make  it  with  the  materials  used,  but 
proved  but  a  slight  obstacle  to  those  who  chose  the  out- 
side to  the  inside.  Here  was  imprisoned-tKej^tpriqus 
Bill  Weaver,  who  killed  David  Hillibra'w,  tmsbemg  uie 
first  murder  in  the  county.  He  made  his  escape  from  the 
log  jail  and  thus  saved  the  county  its  first  hanging  until  a 
much  later  day.  In  1856  a  new  jail  and  jailer's  residence 
was  built  at  a  cost  of  about  $7,000.  In  1864  additions  and 
repairs  were  made  at  a  cost  of  $3,700.  In  1875  other  re- 
pairs and  additions  to  the  amount  of  $1,000  were  made. 
In  recent  years  the  jail  has  been  entirely  renovated  and 
all  modern  improvements  incorporated. 

The  first  poor  farm  was  in  St.  Joseph  township,  and 
was  purchased  by  the  county  in  1858.  Previous  to  this 
period  the  care  of  the  infirm  paupers  was  let  by  contract 
to  the  lowest  bidder,  or  relief  was  granted  to  those  having 
them  in  charge.  The  poor  farm  above  referred  to  was 
situated  too  far  from  the  county  seat  to  be  convenient, 
and  in  1865  a  tract  of  forty-two  acres,  lying  one  mile  east 
of  Urbana,  was  purchased  at  a  cost  of  $50.00 an  acre.  On 

this  was  erected  the 
buildings  now  in  use  at 
a  cost  of  $7,664.44.  Since 
that  time  the  buildings 
have  been  enlarged  and 
modern  improvements 
added  to  them.  They 
are  at  present  among 
the  best  of  the  kind  in 
the  state. 

The  first  school  in  the 
county  was  taught  by  J. 
B.  Thomas,  in  1829,  in  a 
small  log  house  north  of  Big  Grove.  There  is  record  of 
at  least  two  other  school  houses  in  the  county  as  early  as 


THE  FIRST  SCHOOL  HOUSE. 


1832.  One  was  on  the  west  side  of  Big  Grove,  and  was 
taught  by  Claude  Tompkins.  The  other  was  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  the  old  Brumley  place,  near  Urbana,  the  latter  being 
the  first  school  house  erected  in  the  county  so  far  as  the 
records  show.  From  the  cut  here  given  it  seems  to  have 
been  a  substantial  structure.  It  was  of  hewn  logs,  with 
small  windows  covered  with  greased  paper.  The  light 
thus  admitted  might  have 
been  enough  for  bright 
days,  but  certainly  no  one 
could  have  ever  suffered 
from  its  being  too  bright. 
The  seats  of  this  school 
were  hewn  log  slabs.  The 
first  teacher  of  this  school 
was  a  lady  who  boarded 
at  the  house  of  Martin 
Reinhart.  In  1832  Asahel 
Bruer  taught  this  school, 
and  his  name  still  holds  a 
a  place  of  some  promi- 
nence in  local  history,  as 
he  seems  to  have  been  a 
man  of  many  peculiarities. 
From  this  time  the  num- 
ber of  schools  gradually 
increased. 

In  1867,  after  a  hard 
contest  with  many  other 
points,  this  county  suc- 
ceeded in  having  the  State  University  located  in  Urbana. 
Nothing  of  more  importance  was  ever  done  by  a  county,  for 
today  the  University  of  Illinois  stands  well  in  the  fore 
among  the  institutions  of  higher  education  in  our  country 
and  has  made  the  name  of  our  county  known  throughout 
the  world. 

It  seems  that  one  John  Dunham,  of  the  United  Breth- 
ren persuasion,  was  the  first  minister  of  the  gospel  to 
preach  in  this  county.  The  date  of  his  coming  does  not 


[HON.  M.  L.  DUNLAP. 

Conspicuons  in  the  histor}'  of  the  county.  To 
him  belong-s  much  of  the  credit  of  placing-  the 
University  of  Illinois  in  the  county.  Born  Sep- 
tember 21,  1814,  at  Canajoharie,  N.Y.  Died  near 
Savoy,  Illinois,  February^  14, 1875. 


seem  to  be  recorded.  Of  his  methods  of  work  the  present 
day  church  would  doubtless  have  much  to  criticise,  for  it 
is  said  that  as  he  received  no  compensation  for  his  spirit- 
ual labors,  he  combined  with  them  the  sale  of  spirits  to 
his  parishioners.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  estab- 
lished themselves  in  the  county  between  1835  and  1840. 
In  1840  Rev.  A.  Bradshaw  was  pastor  of  the  "Urbana  Mis- 
sion." In  addition  to  this  charge  he  preached  at  Big 
Grove,  Hickory  Grove,  Rodgers,  Old  Homer,  Salt  Fork, 
Sidney,  Okaw,  Flat  Branch  and  Sargents.  Mr.  Bradshaw 

gives  the  following  in- 
teresting report  of  the 
first  church  erection 
work  in  the  county.  He 
says  :  "  I  built,  in  1840, 
in  Urbana,  the  first  par- 
sonage ever  erected  in 
the  county.  I  also  built 
at  the  same  place  the 
first  house  of  worship 
ever  erected  in  the 
county.  The  lot  on 
which  it  was  put  was 
purchased  from  the 
county  for  $2. 50.  I  paid 
for  it  myself,  and  with 
a  few  others  felled, 
scored  and  hewed  all 
the  heavy  timber  that 
went  into  the  church.  I 
bought  the  shingles  and 
was  sued  forthemoney." 

About  this  same  time  the  county  sold  a  lot  to  David 
Cox,  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  Baptist  church  on  the 
same,  for  $2.00.  The  Christian  Church  established  them- 
selves in  the  county  at  about  the  same  time  as  the  Meth- 
odists and  Baptists.  The  other  denominations  followed 
gradually,  and  nearly  all  of  the  recognized  sects  and 
creeds  are  now  represented  in  the  county. 


WILLIAM  D.  SOMERS. 
The  first  lawyer  in  Champaig-n  county.  Very 
conspicuous  in  county  affairs  from  1840  to  the 
time  of  his  death  in  1901. 


15 

The  first  war  in  which  citizens  of  the  county  figured 
was  the  Black  Hawk  War.  The  following  is  taken  from 
one  of  the  histories  of  the  county.  "  At  the  time  of  the 
Black  Hawk  war  Champaign  county  had  not  been  created, 
but  existed  as  the  'annexed  portion  of  Vermillion  county.' 

"A  company  of  mounted  rangers,  consisting  all  told 
of  i2omen,  was  raised  in  Vermillion  county,  of  which  this 
portion  of  country  formed  a  part.  Six  of  this  company, 
however  were  from  Indiana.  Jesse  B.  Brown  was  captain. 
The  first  lieutenant  was  James  Clymer,  the  second  was 
Fry,  the  third  was  McDonald.  The  company  surgeon  was 
McDougal.  John  B.  Thomas  was  hospital  steward.  Geo. 
Scaberry  was  orderly  sergeant  of  his  company.  The  sec- 
ond sergeant  was  Marcus  Snow,  the  third  was  George  W. 
Ware.  Some  of  the  corporals  were  Payne,  Milligan, 
Welch.  The  bugler's  name  was  also  Welch.  Some  of 
the  members  in  addition  to  those  named  were  Elias  Sta- 
mey,  Jacob  Heater,  Walter  Rhodes,  Martin  Rhinehardt, 
Thomas  Richards,  Wm.  S.  Coe,  Rev.  Mr.  Mahurin,  Tho- 
mas LeButler,  Jesse  B.  Wright,  Jefferson  Smith,  Jefferson 
Homer,  James  Thompson.  Many  of  these  belonged  to 
what  was  called  the  'attached  part  of  Vermillion,'  and 
their  names  will  doubtless  be  recognized  by  the  older  cit- 
izens of  the  county." 

From  the  records  obtainable  it  has  been  found  that 
the  whole  number  of  soldiers  credited  to  the  county  of 
Champaign,  under  the  several  calls  during  the  war  of  the 
rebellion,  reaches  the  grand  total  of  2,276,  being  54  in  ex- 
cess of  all  quotas  assigned,  and  about  one-seventh  of  the 
entire  population.  Not  only  were  the  people  patriotic  in 
responding  to  the  country's  call  for  men,  but  those  re- 
maining at  home  furnished  ample  proof  of  their  devotion 
to  their  country.  The  records  show  that  the  county  and 
the  various  towns  paid  out  $229,009.90  as  bounties  to  the 
families  of  soldiers,  in  payment  of  transportation  charges 
and  other  expenses  connected  with  the  unusual  demands 
made  by  the  war.  Among  those  serving  from  this  county 
six  held  the  office  of  colonel,  one  of  lieutenant-colonel, 
two  of  major,  one  of  adjutant,  four  of  quartermaster,  three 


i6 


of  surgeon,  three  of  assistant  surgeon,  one  of  chaplain, 
forty-two  of  captain,  thirty-six  of  first  lieutenant,  and 
twenty-eight  of  second  lieutenant.  Of  the  wars  that  have 
come  to  the  nation  since  we  need  say  nothing.  Cham- 
paign county  has  done  her  share  willingly,  ready  to  do 
do  more  if  more  was  asked. 

Such  in  brief  has  been  the  story  of  our  county.     Of 

its  financial  prosperity 
nothing  has  here  been 
said,  nor  need  it  be.  Of 
the  rapid  increase  in  pop- 
ulation we  have  only  to 
say  that  while  in  1833  the 
county  claimed  less  than 
500  persons  the  census  of 
1900  shows  a  population 
of  47,622. 

If  the  stranger  desires 
to  know  more  let  him 
drive  over  the  county  on 
a  pleasant  day  in  summer 
and  see  things  for  himself, 
and  then  let  him  stop  and 
remember  that  within  one 
lifetime  all  this  prosperity 
and  wealth  has  come  to 
replace  the  level  stretches 
of  prairie  and  swamp,  in- 
habited only  by  the  Indian, 

the  deer,  the  wolf,  and  the  rattlesnake.  Such  a  person 
will  not  need  to  have  the  story  of  the  county  told  him. 

In  1833  the  land  of  the  county  found  but  few  buyers 
at  the  government  price  of  $1.25  per  acre.  Today  it  is 
difficult  to  find  a  person  willing  to  part  with  his  land  for 
less  than  $100.00  per  acre. 

Champaign  County,  Illinois,  stands  well  in  the  lead 
among  the  counties  of  the  country,  leading  in  all  agricul- 
tural, educational,  religious,  financial  and  other  progress- 
ive movements  of  the  land. 


MRS.  MALINDA    BRYAN. 
The  first  bride  in  Champaign  county.  Before 
marriag-e  was   Miss  Malinda  Busey.     She  was 
married  July  25,  1833,  by  Esquire  J.  B.  Thomas 
of  Homer  to  John  Bryan. 


CHAMPAIGN  COUNTY  COURT  HOUSE 
DEDICATED  AUGUST  22,  (901 


FLOOR    PLANS 

CHAMPAIGN  COUNTY  COURT  HOUSE 
URBANA,    ILLINOIS 


FIRST  FLOOD  PLAN 


•SECOND  FLOOR-PLAN • 


•THJRD-FLOOH-PLAN- 


THE  OLD  COURT  HOUSE 


THE  OLD  COURT  HOUSE 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOiS-URBANA 


